HDMI Cable Specs/Marketing

Legitimate HDMI licensees are not allowed to use or advertise "version numbers" such as 1.3b, etc. You are looking at a counterfeit cable or old stock!! Here is the notice from HDMI.org last year:

Important Notice to Manufacturers and Resellers of HDMI Cables

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO REVIEW THESE CHANGES AS THEY MAY HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON YOUR BUSINESS

As of November 18, 2010, important changes to the way HDMI cable products are sold and marketed go into effect.
The following are now mandatory for cable products.

• You shall not use HDMI version numbers in the labeling, packaging, or promotion of any cable product. This includes releases of the HDMI specification (for example, HDMI 1.3, etc.), interim version numbers (for example, HDMI 1.3a, etc.) and CTS (Compliance Test Specification) version numbers (for example, 1.2, 1.3c, etc.).
• All cables shall be labeled, both on the cable itself and on the front of the cable packaging, with the appropriate cable name (see below). As of November 18, 2010, compliance will be mandatory.
  • Standard HDMI® Cable
  • Standard HDMI® Cable with Ethernet
  • Standard Automotive HDMI® Cable
  • High Speed HDMI® Cable
  • High Speed HDMI® Cable with Ethernet
• You shall label the physical cable based on the requirements listed in Section 5.2 of the Adopted Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines.
• All packaging for HDMI cables shall clearly indicate the cable type by using the Cable Type Logos shown in Section 5.3 of the Adopted Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines.

In order to enforce the cable market and ensure that only compliant HDMI cables are sold in the market, HDMI Licensing, LLC has been working with Custom and Border Protection agencies in the US, Europe and China. These agencies will evaluate imported and exported HDMI cable products based on their compliance with all aspects of the Adopter Agreement including these latest marketing requirements. HDMI Licensing, LLC strongly recommends that all Adopters abide by these requirements in order to ensure that there is no disruption to your business.

For more information, please reference the latest Adopted Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines. To download a copy, please visit http://www.hdmi.org/logosphotos/atlug.aspx
_____________________
Charlene Wan
Tel: (408) 616-1549
HDMI Licensing, LLC
www.hdmi.org

No real way to say. If you have a high speed cable it will work, if it is a standard speed cable, then the cable isn't required to support but might. You'll have to try it to be sure.

Support for ARC is one feature of the 1.4a spec. So supporting all of the 1.4a features requires a high speed cable. Supporting one of the features is kind of like asking if the tread on a tire can support a car if only one tire is used.

Bottom line is that you need a high speed cable and certainly by the advertising you listed, I'd be very concerned about that vendor since they list things the cable doesn't do. These cables are digital cables and don't really "know" what the bits mean. Their only job is to get the same 1s and 0s from one side of the cable to the other without changing any of those 1s and 0s. Push the 1s and 0s too quickly through a non-qualified cable and the 1s and 0s will be garbled.

And, 12-bit color is for red or green or blue, not for the three combined (x3).

Some pins were reassigned, and the associated wiring changed, with the advent of HDMI 1.4 to support ARC and ethernet. However, according to HDMI.org, ARC will work with all HDMI cables. The digital audio on the ARC is at a much lower bit rate than the pairs that send the video to your display. So, a less than optimal wiring scheme is much less likely to have a significant effect on the ability to send audio. But if you want to be sure that the cable was actually designed with ARC in mind, you will need one that also supports ethernet.

Our testing has shown that any "decent" HDMI ever built will support "ARC".
Short History of HDMI cable capability's (note that some listed capabilities were NOT part of the spec at that time) .

HDMI 1.0
*5Gb's
*1080P
*8 Bit Color
*ARC
*SACD
*DVD Audio

HDMI 1.1
*5Gb's
*1080P
*8 Bit Color
*ARC
*SACD
*DVD Audio

HDMI 1.2
*5Gb's
*1080P
*8 Bit Color
*ARC
*SACD
*DVD Audio

(Here is where it gets interesting)

HDMI 1.3 (Cat-1)
(There is a big drop in Rez capability with this cable)
*2.65Gb's
*1080i
*8 Bit Color
*ARC
*SACD
*DVD Audio

HDMI 1.3 (Cat-2)
(There is a big jump in Rez capability with this cable)
*10.2Gb's
*1080P
*4K/2K
*48 Bit Color
*ARC
*SACD
*DVD Audio
*3D

HDMI Standard Speed
(Exactly the SAME cable as 1.3 Cat-1)
*2.65Gb's
*1080i
*8 Bit Color
*ARC
*SACD
*DVD Audio

HDMI High Speed
(Exactly the same cable as 1.3 Cat-2)
*10.2Gb's
*1080P
*4K/2K
*48 Bit Color
*ARC
*SACD
*DVD Audio
*3D

There are also "+ethernet" versions of "Standard Speed" and "High Speed".
There is no performance changes at all, only the added feature of the ability to also carry ethernet (10/100) signal.

There are of course some feature sets that I have forgotten, but these are the majors.

You know, a little research goes a long way. The quote below is from the same HDMI Org FAQ that is referenced in so many of the recent appends on this forum. But, rather than have you search, here is what the HDMI Org says about deep color,

"Deep Color: HDMI 1.3 supports 10-bit, 12-bit and 16-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 8-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification, for stunning rendering of over one billion colors in unprecedented detail."

So, that you are worried about 12-bit color depth is actually amusing. Remember 12-bits is per pel (I think I wrote this two appends earlier). So you're actually talking about 36-bits per pixel. 24 bit color (8-bits per pel) is pretty much standard while some devices allow for 12-bit color depth. Many manufacturers actually only effectively use 10-bits of the 12-bits, even when deep color is provided on a video device.

So, if you want to worry about something that you'll notice on your parents' set, deep color isn't it. Spend your time worrying about whether you'll get a picture or not due to HDCP or EDID or a bad cable.

Once again - it's a digital cable. It sends bits - it doesn't know what the bits are. It doesn't even choose which things to send - that's up to the chipsets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_depth

Way to go...Now you have everyone thinking that the cable knows about the capabilities you have listed. The people who come here asking for help usually have between 1 and 20 appends and are looking for simple and easy help. Stating that a cable has a capability just muddies the waters.

It is just a cable. Unless the wiring is changed between HDMI versions (which was not done), then the same bits are being sent. What the bits mean is irrelevent to the cable.

This is exactly why the HDMI Org changed the designations to standard speed and high speed for cables.

I also really hate the idea that you have me defending an HDMI Org decision.

Hey George^, I just bought 2 Bell'o HDMI cables HD3102 versions, just wanted to get your thoughts on it, from the labeling it is a high speed cable capable of all the features out there.

Do you suppose someone who last posted close to two years ago is going to respond?

FWIW a 2m cable is likely to work just fine.

I figured it was worth a shot, thanks for the info!